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FROM
dink
Dink NeSmith
Here’s how Sanford Stadium
got its fabled hedges …
Gov. Lamartine Griffin Hardman was a progressive but stern governor.
In 1929 he decreed no vehicles of the University of Georgia should
leave Clarke County. Under normal circumstances, that’d be an easy
rule to follow. But circumstances weren’t normal when President
Steadman V. Sanford was determined to unveil “the best football stadium in
Dixie” that fall. The Bulldogs were welcoming Yale to help christen the new
gridiron in the valley between the north and south campuses.
Circumstances got more complicated when an Atlanta
donor called with a gift of privet Ligustrum—hedges to
ring the stadium’s field. That’s when President Sanford hit
upon a scheme that might not invoke the governor’s ire.
He involved the governor’s son, Lamartine Griffin Hardman
Jr., who was a UGA student. And since the university’s fleet
was limited, and the biggest truck belonged to the ROTC
department, Henri Leon (Sarge) Farmer was recruited to
guide the stealth mission to and from Fulton County.
When young Hardman and his ROTC instructor struck out
for Atlanta, they had intentions of returning before dark. The
truck’s headlights were on the blink. But the journey took
longer than expected. On the return to the Classic City, the
sun dropped. Sarge, ever prepared, pulled out a flashlight.
He put his student behind the wheel.
Clinging to the running board, Sarge aimed the beam toward
Athens. That worked—for a while. Then it got darker. Army-like,
he crawled onto the hood of the big olive-drab truck. Hanging
on with one hand and shining the light with the other, Sarge—
sprawled out—guided the governor’s son back into town and
to the gate of yet-to-be-dedicated Sanford Stadium.
Today, Lam Hardman,
left, is a senior at Athens
Academy, thinking
about UGA. Beau, right,
is a junior, studying
accounting, at Georgia
College and State
University in Milledgeville.
Workers were waiting to spade the privet into the red clay. Legend
suggests they, too, needed flashlights to beat the deadline before the
Oct. 12, 1929, kickoff.
No one knows whether Gov. Hardman ever yelped, but he was in the
50-yard line seats—along with eight other Southern governors—to see
the Bulldogs bite Yale, 15-0, between the hedges.
There is more than one version of this story, but before the governor’s
grandson, Lam Hardman III, died, this is how he retold it. I’ve been
carrying Lam’s story around for 30 years. And then it hit me—the greatgrandsons
of Sarge Farmer and L.G. Hardman Jr. live in Athens.
With the help of their mothers, Catherine Hardman and Rebecca
Farmer, Lamartine G. (Lam) Hardman V, Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV and
I took a trip to Sanford Stadium to touch the hedges. That was in 2013.
Lam was 7, and Beau was 9. For 50 minutes, between the hedges, I was
younger than 10, too. The three of us imagined the roar of 95,000.
As I was looking at the privet Ligustrum, I flashed back
to 1996. Vince Dooley was on the phone. “The Olympics
are coming,” he said. “If you want some of the hedges, you
best get on over here.”
Years later, I bragged to Coach Dooley how well my
hedges were doing. He trimmed my pride, adding, “I don’t
want to hurt your feelings, but you can’t kill privet hedge.”
The iconic football coach—turned green thumb—was
right. Privet is an invasive-like weed. Not only will it take
over the farm; it will take over the imagination of millions
in the Bulldog Nation. Followers of the Red and Black
believe there’s something magic about playing “between
the hedges.”
Just ask Fran Tarkenton, Herschel Walker or Stetson
Bennett IV.
You can’t kill privet Ligustrum.
And you can’t kill the legend of how the hedges got to
Sanford Stadium.
Just ask Henri Leon Farmer IV or Lamartine Griffin
Hardman V.
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler A small sampling of menu items ...
WHERE SMART DAWGS
EAT AND DRINK!
Oysters Rockefeller
Baked with a topping of spinach, celery, and onion
Classic Crawfish Etouffee
Rich Creole stew of crawfish tails served over rice
Crab Cakes
Lump crab sautéed and served over stewed corn
with remoulade
Stuffed Filet
Stuffed with bleu cheese and port wine sauce.
Served with potatoes and chef’s vegetables.
Carpetbagger
Topped with fried oysters and bernaise sauce.
Served with potatoes and chef’s vegetables.
Seafood Jambalaya
Redfish, oysters, shrimp and crawfish over a
chicken and andouille jambalaya
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Reggie DiSante was a protégé of
Harry Bissett’s founder George
Davis? Come and experience many
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BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED 24 ISSUE TWELVE • OLE MISS